Advancing Reconciliation and Development in Sri Lanka

By Mangala Samaraweera.-27/02/2016

‘Reconciliation and Development’, as you would agree, are intertwined. It is difficult, almost impossible, to have one without the other.

At the time we gained Independence, in February 1948, Sri Lanka, then Ceylon, was in a unique position among the countries in the developing world as she had experience of representative government and development indicators that were unparalleled in the developing word. In fact, An editorial published in London on the day of Sri Lanka’s independence predicted that in a short space of time Ceylon would become the Switzerland of the East.

The different communities in the country showed promise of being able to live and work towards common national goals in peace, harmony and unity. They had worked together in the past, to gain independence from the British despite the fact that they followed different faiths, spoke different languages and followed different customs.

However, what followed is something that the world knows only too well. We made mistakes which saw our country plunge into torment and conflict for well over three decades.

The failure to manage such justifiable grievances led to conflict and violence. Sri Lanka’s post-independence leadership was unable to terms with her diversity as a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-lingual country. As a result these grievances were transformed into inter-communal resentment and feelings of discrimination and unfair treatment.  Our post-Independence leaders, who were acutely aware of the diverse character of our island, sadly faltered at decisive moments and failed to stand up to extremists.

As a result, unmet grievances led to violence and ultimately created the conditions necessary for terrorism, which then transformed into a brutal war. By the time the war ended there were serious allegations of violations of human rights and war crimes hurled against both parties to the conflict and Sri Lanka was facing virtual isolation internationally.
Read More